#barcab

Thought the day would never come but on the 28th January it happened, the former youth captain Roger Riera returned to Barça. After 5 years away, playing in Spain, England and Holland, he returned on a free to lead the defence of Garcia Pimienta's men.

It may not sound or seem like a crucial signing but I guarantee it will be by the end of the season. Riera is a leader, something the team needs at the back. Ramos Mingo, Comas and even Mika Marmol have done well this year (can't forget about Mingueza either) but Riera will come in and calm those youngsters around him. That's his biggest aim for the rest of the season, to relax the youth surrounding him and help them implement the Barça style.

We can go on forever about the talent coming through La Masia right now but I thought the first blog on my new format would be interesting if it was about a former product of La Masia who has returned. Let me know what you guys think.

My last blog was about the new President needing to revert back to the old ways of trusting La Masia and the riches it offers. Thankfully both Victor Font and Joan Laporta conveyed this message, with the latter being formally elected. As far as timing goes, Laporta has taken the job at the perfect time for the youth system. Koeman has shown so much faith in the young players from the subsidary, that he has probably bought himself more time as head coach.

In terms of the B team, Garcia Pimienta's boys have performed absolute miracles to get to the point where they have qualified for the next playoff scenario. While rotating players (either by choice or forced by injury) he has managed to bring through some of the Juvenil A talent recently. The jewels of the Juvenil A team, Gavi and Angel Alarcon have made an impression already, meaning the B squad now have a ridiculous amount of talent to choose from. Ilaix Moriba has seemingly made the jump to the big team, which has opened the door for Gavi to burst through it.

The game today against Cornella could be another chance for Pimienta to look over Angel Alarcon, who is someone I am really impressed by. Plays out wide but seems to offer something all across the front, something we don't appear to have currently. Konrad de la Fuente has been good this season, although I expected a little more, so now may be the time for Alarcon to get a few more minutes experience in Segunda B.

So as Election day is half way done, I thought I'd have a little say on what I'd like to see from the next president. PLEASE UTILISE LA MASIA! That is all.

The last few seasons have shown that big money signings (or big name ones) don't necessarily have the impact we all desire. There are so many examples of these signings which have just been a burden on the coaches. I'm not denying the quality they have, but I am saying sometimes they just don't fit the system or club. Pjanic is a prime example of this. I know it was a swap sort of deal, however it has to be asked what qualities he exactly has that fit with the Barça way? Every time one of these signings occur, it just puts another obstacle in the way for the youth players.

Injuries to first team players have allowed Koeman to take a look and investigate the idea of playing the players from the B team. Without these injuries, Mingueza and Araujo wouldn't have logged big minutes. Konrad and Ilaix may not have had their debuts. These opportunities to feed the first team squad with the talented youth need to be more and more going forward. La Masia is the envy of clubs throughout the world, yet for a number of years we've allowed the talent to leave without giving much of a chance.

Needless to say, this game is a bit of a freebie for Garcia Pimienta's team as it's a game previously postponed game due to the Covid pandemic. 3 points tomorrow and we'd be right up in 3rd position in the league. As always with Pimi, his team selection will be different from the last starting 11.

For me, I'd like to see a lineup of Tenas, Alvaro Sanz, Riera, Comas, Balde, Busquets, Nico, Lucas de Vega, Maia, Menaj and Konrad. I know it's a bit of a different lineup and missing key players from this season like Alex Collado, Ilaix, Jandro, Peña and Mika Marmol but I think it would benefit the whole squad. I'd like to see how Nico operates in the midfield with more focus on attack with Busquets sitting in behind. Menaj has been playing really good over the last few games and I'd like him to grab a goal to be honest, he absolutely deserves it. Balde would benefit with another game and Alvaro Sanz has been impressive filling in at RB. He's looking almost natural in the position and for me would be first choice from now on.

No doubt I'll be completely wrong but this is how I'd go😂😂!! Pimienta knows best obviously 😂😂👍. Enjoy the game and 3 points at the end of it!

Iñaki Peña is a superb young goalkeeper with a big career ahead of him. He's often overlooked, both with the big team and with Barça B. All the talk is about Ter Stegen and Neto or with Arnau Tenas. Tenas is a very exciting prospect, similar to old fans favourite Victor Valdes but for me, Iñaki Peña is a more sound keeper. His Barça DNA is there for all to see and nearly every game he plays, he produces at least 1 save that keeps us in the game. Big keepers produce in big moments and Peña is one of those. I'd love to see him actually given a game for the big team, he's certainly better suited to the role than Neto.